1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to communications technology. In particular, the invention relates to remotely accessing information sites or communications access points via a standard telecommunication network.
2. Description of Related Art
Under existing telecommunications protocols, a party attempting to access an information site (including a communications access point) in the United States (such as, but not limited to, an internet or electronic mail provider) from a location outside the Untied States must enter a lengthy dial string, which includes special international dialing codes, as well as local area code and telephone numbers to the information site. A user outside the United States may also be required to use specialized communications hardware, such as telephone jacks or line couplers, for example, as well as particularized dial tones and protocols suitable and for use in a given host country.
A party outside the United States trying to reach an information site in the United States typically utilizes a communications access device, such as a modem. Conventional modem dial-up packages prompt the user to enter the entire domestic telephone code of the destination (when, for example, trying to access company electronic mail). Many existing conventional web browsers will continue to dial the same domestic code entered during the first use (a default setting). This presents a problem to a user outside the United States trying to access an information site in the United States, because the dial string must be entered in stages. The first stage involves making a connection from the user's location, such as a hotel, to a foreign network element. This first network element receives the user's communication and contacts a second network element in the United States, such as the commercially available AT&T Direct.RTM. service. Once a connection is made with a network element located in the United States, a dial tone is emitted over the existing connection to prompt the user for a local dialing code which is required to connect with the information site. Therefore, successfully connecting to the information site requires dialing in two or more stages.
Conventional modems and related communications packages are not configured to facilitate incremental or step dialing. Typically, they require a user to enter the entire domestic dialing code when initially prompted. However, a user outside the United States cannot enter the entire dial string, including international parameters, necessary to connect with an information site in the United States because a connection must first be made to a regional network element, then relayed to a network element in the United States, before a local dial tone (or domestic code) is presented for entry of a local dial string used to access the final destination.
Therefore, there is a need in the industry for an apparatus and method which allows a user outside the United States to efficiently access a remote destination via standard telecommunications network connections, without cumbersome manipulation of dialing equipment.